In an effort to develop sophisticated missiles within the country, the Indian scientists on Sunday successfully conducted two tests of the Army version of the medium-range surface to air missile
(MRSAM).
The missile can destroy airborne hostile targets like fighter jets, subsonic and supersonic missiles and rockets.
Giving details of the tests, officials said the successful launches were carried out at 10.30 am by the Defence Research and Development Organisation(DRDO) at the Integrated Test Range(ITR), Chandipur off the coast of Odisha.
With a strike range of nearly 100 km, the 4.5-meter long supersonic quick reaction missile weighs around 2.7 ton and can carry a payload of 60 kg.
Each MRSAM unit comprises one command and control system, multi-functional surveillance tracking radar, threat alert radar, mobile launcher, combat management system, mobile power and radar power systems apart from the missile.
The air version of the MRSAM system has already been handed over to IAF. The missile is designed to provide point and area air defence for ground assets against a wide range of threats. Travelling at a speed of Mach 2, it can achieve high degrees of maneuverability at the terminal phase.
The latest flight tests were carried out as part of the live firing trials against high-speed aerial targets. The missiles intercepted the aerial targets and destroyed them completely, registering direct hits at both the ranges. The first launch was to intercept a medium altitude long range target and second launch was for proving the capability of a low altitude short range target, officials said.
This MRSAM version is a Surface-to-Air Missile developed jointly by the DRDO and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), Israel for use by the Indian Army.
The MRSAM Army weapon system comprises multi-function radar, mobile launcher system and other vehicles. The flight tests were carried out with the weapon system in deliverable configuration.
The performance of the weapon system was validated through the flight data captured by range instruments like radars, electro-optical tracking systems and telemetry deployed by ITR, Chandipur. The flight tests were carried out in the presence of senior officials from the DRDO and the Indian Army.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh congratulated the DRDO, Indian Army and the Industry for the successful flight tests of MRSAM-Army. He said, both the successful tests establish the capability of the weapon system in intercepting targets at critical ranges.
The DRDO chief G Satheesh Reddy complimented the teams involved in the successful flight trial of the Army version of MRSAM and said these tests are the major milestones for an ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’.